Apparatus for treating hat bodies



Ndv. 25, 19411 B. D. WE LLS APPARATUS FOR TREATING HATv BDDIES Filed Nov. 9, 1939 2 Sheets-Shet 1 INVENTQR Beau/v6 Q h eus. BY

B. D. WELLS APPARATUS FOR TREATING HAT BODIES Nov. 25, 1941.

Filed Nov. 9, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Baez/1V6 Q M443 Patented Nov. 25, 1941 APPARATUS FOR TREATING HAT BODIES Hurling- D. Wells, .Danbury, Conn, assignor to The Mallory HatCompalnmiDanbury, Conn, a corporation of Connecticut ApplicationNovember 9, 1939,. SerialNo; 303,587

16 Claims.

This invention relates to an apparatus for treating hat bodies, such as felt hats.

One of the objects of this invention is toprovide a simple, practical and efficient apparatus for-treating the surface of the hat-body toimprove its finish. 'Another object is to provide an apparatus for rectifying in a dependable and efficient way certain conditions-created in the hat body, such as helical or spiral markings or traces, frequentlycaused by certain steps or operations carried on in finishing hat bodies, such as pouncing, for example.

Another object is to provide a practical apparatus that will be of inexpensive construction and dependable action for effecting surface treatment of a hat body along such a path or paths relative to the shape of the'hat body as will effect traverse over thehat body or'the" desired portion of it as will effect anev'en and substantially uniformly distributed action on the material. Another object is to provide an apparatus of the just mentioned character in which also such path or paths of movement maybe dependably achieved throughout a-wide range of change of contour of the hat body or parttherei of operated upon, such as variations in the oval, changes in the square and'the like.

Another object is to "provide an apparatus of the above-mentioned character in which operative association with the hat body of the part or parts that are to operate thereon, or'disassociation of the two,may bereliably and quickly effected without injury to the material or hat body operated upon, thus to facilitate greater ease and speed of manual or other control of the operative relationship between the hat body and the part orparts that operate upon it.

Another object is to provide a practicaland dependable mechanism for effecting relative movement between ahat'bodyand the "tool-opcrating upon it along a path or paths such that the effects or traces of previous operations, so that certain undesired effects or traces of certain operations, such-as pouncing, may be dependably removed or so that the surface "fibers of the'felt material aresmoothed or laid in di rections-such that the felt materialis of substantially uniform appearance throughout 'the portion of the hat body operated upon.

Another object is to'p'rovide an apparatus for rubbing or evening the crown of a felt hat body that will be of inexpensive construction, simple andfoolproofto operate, and of1reliable:and efficient action. Another object-is to provide "an apparatus of this character in which "the operating tool or tools and the crownofthe' 'hat body have relative operating movements or'traver'ses tions or changes intheshapes ofthehat bodies to be treated and also to insure the speedy bringing of the-hat-body and 'toolor tools into or out of'oper'ative relation to eachother without chancing injury to thehat body itself. Other objects will be inpart obvious or in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consist-sin thefeatures of construction, combinations of elements, arrangements of parts as will be exemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scope of the application-of which Will be indicated in the following claims. 7

In the accompanying --drawings in which is shown'a preferred-illustrative embodiment of the mechanical features of myinvention,

Figure 1 is a plan viewof theapparatus with certain ofthe-parts shown in-horizontalcros'ssection;

Figure 2'is a detached view as seen along-the line 2-2 of Figure-1, showing certain features-of a mounting andcontrol forthe'severaltools;

Figure 3 is afront elevation-of 'theapparatus as seen from the bottom of Figure 1; t

Figure '4 is an-elevation on'anenl'argedscale of one of the tools intheformof a pad, more particularly as seen along the line 4*4 of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a transverse sectional view as" seen along the-line 5--'-5 of Figure-4, and

Figure 6 is anend elevation of-the'tool structure as seen from the left in Figure 4* or Figure" 5.

Similar reference characters refer to similar partsth-roughout the-several views inthedraW- mgs.

Referring'first to Fi-gure 1, IJha eth'ere shown ahat body generallyindicated at l0 whose crown C is to be treated, and preferably andiillustratively I support the 'hat'body IO :for rotation about a horizontal'axis and hence preferably provide a'block I'l onto which the crownCiis snugly fitted and by which the crown is supported throughoutall-.itsparts; for supporting the block II to rotate about *a' horizontal axis'I preferably provide a chuck generally indicated at 1-2 "of any suitableform-for detachably supporting the block II, the chuck l2 being provided with suitable jaws l3 for releasably gripping the stem of the hat block under the control of mechanism of any suitable form manually operated by a handle l4 and so constructed, as is known in the art, that the chuck laws may be operated to release or grip the hat block during the rotation of the chuck-supporting shaft l5. The latter is rotatably supported in any suitable way in a suitable frame or standard l6 and any suitable means (not shown) may be employed for driving the shaft at the desired speed.

The crown C of the hat body may vary widely in its shape or conformation; thus, it may be circular or, more usually, oval in cross-section, its side or band portion B may or may not have some taper or slope, the tip T may be plane or curved and the radius of curvature at the square S may also widely vary. Usually, in

themanufacture of felt hat bodies, after the crown has been shaped to the block which at that stage determines the shape and contour of the body, the exterior thereof is subjected to various finishing operations, such as pouncing, and in such operations it is usual to effect such a traverse of the tool relative to the hat body that the general or relative path of movement between the tool and the side B of the hat body is substantially helical and the path between the tool and the top or tip of the hat T is substantiallyspiral; frequently such operations leave these parts of the hat with circumferential streaks or traces due usually to uneven or irregular application or action of the tool or tools upon the hat body as the former move relative to the latter. To better illustrate certain actions of the apparatus of my invention let it be assumed that the hat body ID has such traces or streaks resulting from one of the above-mentioned finishing operations and that it is desired to remove such markings.

. With the hat body mounted and supported as above described, I now effect, during the rotation of the hat body, illustratively in the direction of the arrows of Figure 1 and hence clockwise, as seen in Figure 3, the traverse of preferably several tools over the crown C but in a path or paths so related to the circumferential streaks or traces above mentioned and under such relative movement between the tool or tools and the hatbody as will wipe out the streaks. This I preferably achieve by mechanism taking the illustrative form about to be described.

Thus, upon a suitable base 8, which may be mechanically positioned or related to the frame IS in any suitable manner, I provide an upstanding boss 2|] in which is supported and fixed a vertical stud 2| on which is journaled an auxiliary frame 22 whose left-hand end is suitably shaped (Figures 1 and 3) to take over the stud 2| and to form with the latter a strong and dependable swivel connection between the base I8 and the auxiliary frame 22, whereby the latter with the parts carried by it may be swung about the axis of stud 2| and toward or away from the supported hat body l0, preferably within certain limits, as is later described. A collar 23 fixed to the upper end of the stud 2| holds the frame 22 against movement in an upward direction relative to the stud.

As better appears in Figure l, the auxiliary frame 22, when swung into the position there shown, extends toward the right and thence inwardly where it is conformed to provide a substantially cylindrical part 24 which is bored out to form a bearing for a rotatable sleeve-like toolcarrying member 25, it being noted that preferably the axis of the cylindrical frame part 24 is substantially in the same horizontal plane with the axis of rotation of the hat body (see Figure 3) and extends in a direction to intersect the axis of the supported hat body substantially at the inside middle or center point of the hat body, about half way between the tip T and the brim R of the hat (Figure 1). This cylindrical frame part 24 is preferably bifurcated, as by slotting it transversely to its axis, as at 26 (Figure 1) to accommodate in the slot 26 a gear 21 which, in this preferred and illustrative form of drive of the sleeve member 25, is first positioned in the slot 26 so that the subsequent entry of sleeve member 25 into the frame part 24 effects also assembly of the gear 21 to the sleeve member 25, any suitable means, such as a set screw 28, being employed to fix the gear 27 to the sleeve member 25.

As is better shown in Figure 3, the left-hand half of the cylindrical frame part 24 has preferably integrally formed therewith a housinglike part 30 of about extent to cover over the left-hand half of the gear 21, and this portion 30 of the frame preferably merges into and communicates with a hollow upstanding general- 1y cylindrical casing-like part 3| whose upper face (see Figure 3) forms a support for the frame of an electric motor 32 which is secured thereto in any suitable way; the shaft of motor 32 extends downwardly into the hollow casing part 3|, as shown at 33 in Figure 1, and carries a gear 34 which meshes with the gear 21 which by the just described construction is exposed within the casing part 3|. Preferably, gear 34 is a worm gear and gear 2'! is a worm wheel, it being convenient and preferable to get in this manner the desired speed reduction.

The other and substantially 180 extent of the gear 21 is covered over and encased by an auxiliary casing part 35 (Figures 1 and 3) which in cross-section is substantially U-shaped and which snugly interfits with the exterior of the cylindrical frame part 24 to which it is secured as by the cap screws 36 (Figure 1) thus forming a complement to the casing part 30 above described and with the latter completely enclosing the gear.

The tool supporting sleeve 25 is at its inner end, as viewed in Figure l, of greater thickness, as throughout the portion 31, thereby also forming a shoulder to bear against the inner end of the frame part 24, and thus to coact with the gear 21 to hold the sleeve member 25 against axial movement while permitting freedom of rotation thereof; it is in this enlarged end portion 31 that I prefer to form supports or mountings for the tool or tools which are to operate upon the rotating hat body and illustratively and preferably I provide three such tools and arrange their mountings preferably equiangularly and equidistantly relative to each other and to the axis of the sleeve member 25. Since the tools and their mountings are preferably identical, it will sufiice to describe in detail only one of them.

The enlarged portion 3! of the sleeve member 25 I provide with as many radially extending slots 38 (Figures 1 and 2) as there are tools to be supported, and hence and illustratively three such slots, which, as shown in Figure 2, are equiangularly spaced from each other. Each slot isbridged by a pin 40 supported and fixed in holes drilled 1nthe, sleevetportion ,3! along a :line "at right angles't'o the radial center line of the slot.

.Snug1y:fitted:betweenthe parallel side walls of the :slot i38.-and:pivotally carried by pin 40 is a member 4| somewhat block-like in shape and shaving extending therefrom .and preferably integrally formed therewith a stud 42 suitably shouldered at its lower-endand of suitable length .toreceivethereon the inner races of two antifric- :tion bearings, preferably combined radial and ,terlxextends generally in a direction parallel to the :axisof the mountinglsleeve member 25 but .can partake of movement or oscillation about the mounting pin 40, preferably in the manner and within limitations as is later described.

Thehubmember 45.is part of an auxiliary toolcarry-ingframewhich at its upper end'is preferably forked to provide :two spaced parallel arms 46, 41 (Figures 1 and 3) between and by which the operating tool is carried, preferably pivotally,

socthat it may swing about an axis through the ends of the two arms.

Illustratively and preferably the operating tool iszgivenithe form and arrangement better shown inFigures .4, and 6. It may thus comprise a frame or base 48 generally rectangular and havinga'substantially rectangular recess 58 in its vnnder-face'for the reception of .a suitable padding material preferably resilient, such as sponge rubber, indicated at 5|, to provide a yielding and preferably resilient back or support for the operating material which is shown in sheet form, as .at.:5 2,;and may comprise any suitable material, such as cloth of cotton or-light duck, or leather, likechamoia orother material according to the 'SDBQifiO character of actionand resultdesired.

:As shown in Figure 5, the resilient or padding mhterialil is of sufficient thickness so that its exposed face is well spaced from the under face of theframe 48; a suitable length of the selected sheet material 52 isspread across the under face of the backing material 5| and its opposed ends are brought upwardly around the sides of the frame 48, thus to cover and envelope such sides and their lower and upper corners, whence the extreme ends of the member 52 are brought through: slots 53 in a clamping plate 54 which by any suitable means such as a threaded stud 55 and a wing nut 5Bis forcedand held toward the upper face of the frame '48, thus clamping parts fthe-endportions. of the operating material 52 tightly against the upperface of the frame 48. In-the course of efiecting this clamping operation, theends of the member 52 are drawn manually to give the desiredtautness of the material 52 acrossthe under face of the member 5|. The width of the material 52 employed is preferably adequate to envelope the upper and lower longitudinal corners or edges of the side faces of the frame 48 through their entire length, thus to avoid exposure of metal parts of the tool construction.

The longitudinal side walls tt and 43 (Figurelfi) to each side of the channel-shaped recess 50; ofthe frame 48 are longitudinally slotted, as at '51 and 58, and theseslots forconyenience in manufacture and for better balance preferably extendithroughout the length of these sidewalls portions 48 48 being preferably also open ended; into these slots .51, 58 extend theouter parallelportions of the arms 46, .141, respectively,

their ends in the respective parts of the bifurcated or slotted side wall portions 48 48 of the frame 48. Preferably, these parts are so proportioned that the center line of the stud 42, if extended, would intersect as near as possible the midpoint of the face of the operating material 52 backed up by the padding 5|. Preferably, also, these two pivotal connections are provided with antifriction bearings, such as ball bearings (not shown), preferably initially adequately lubricated and sealed so as to prevent egress of lubricant and also to avoid the need for subsequent lubrication. Thus, the tool structuremay oscillate freely about the axis of the pivot pins 50 and GI, it being noted that though the arms M5, 61 of the forked frame extend to the transverse center line of-the frame 48, they extend along the slots in the latter and, moreover, are prevented from being exposed by the operating sheet material 52 which, as better appears in Figure 5, bridges over the slots 51 and 58. 7

Referring to Figure l, the hub member '45is provided with an arm 62 which, with the tool and its mounting connected to the mounting sleeve member 25, as above described, extends in a di-' rection parallel to the supportingstud 42 and inwardly of the sleeve member 25 which it may enter to some extent; the extreme end of this arm 52, which may be integrally formed with the hub t5, has connected to it one end of a helical spring 63, the other end of which is anchored to a stud 64 which is adjustably mounted in a rabbeted or.

shouldered cap plate .65, a portion of which fits into the outer end of the sleeve member 25 tobe thereby centered and flange portions of which overlap the end of the sleeve member 25 and also the cylindrical frame part 24 in which the sleeve 25 is rotatably supported. The stud M is provided with any suitable means, such as a slot in its outer end (see Figures 1 and 3) whereby its rotary position may be changed, thus to adjust at will the direction and extent of the torsion effect of the helical spring 653, cap plate 65 being preferably fixed against rotary displacement relative to the sleeve 25 in any suitable manner as, for example, by a dowel pin 55. Also, any suitable means may be employed to lock the stud 64. in the rotary position into which it has been set,

and such a means may comprise a screw 61 threaded into the cap plate 65 in a position adjacent the stud 62 so that the head of the screw overlaps the outer end of the stud 6d and when tightened up grips or clamps the stud in its ad,- justed position.

Preferably, also, the cap plate 55 is given such a rotary position relative to the sleeve member 25 and setting it in such position that the line along which the spring 63 pulls on the arm 62, being the axis or center line of the spring 63, extends at an angle to the general line of or direction of the supporting stud 42 to yielding-1y bias the fork 4B, 41 and hence the operating tool about the axis of the supporting stud 42. This biasing action may thus be utilized to supplement a similar rotary biasing effect upon the forked frame 46, 47 caused by the inherent torsional action of spring 63 as such action is determined or adjusted by the stud 64, as above described, all for a purpose later described.

Spring 63 is sufiiciently tensioned to swing the tool structure about the axis of pin 40 and in a direction inwardly toward the center line of the mounting sleeve 25, preferably, however, to a limited extent; this inward swinging under the action of spring 63 may be limited in any suitable manner, illustratively and conveniently by shaping the base of the slot 38 and the adjacent end face of the member 46, somewhat as shown in Figure 1, from which it will be seen that inward swinging of the pivoted tool structure ceases at a point when these two faces engage.

The various tool structures, illustratively the three above mentioned, are thus normally (disregarding the hat body) held by the springs 63 in inwardly swung positions as thus limited, and are thereby normally held equidistantly spaced from and equiangularly spaced about the line of the axis of the sleeve member 25; the resultant relative spacings are, however, such that the plurality of tool structures form, by the operating surfaces of the operating material 52, a mouth or throat into which the blocked hat body may enter when the rotating tool assembly is moved toward the rotating hat body, as by swinging the auxiliary frame 22, along a line that substantially bisects, as the structure is viewed in Figure 1, the angle subtended by the arc of the square S of the hat body. To aid in better alining the operating faces of the tools to engage the hat body when initial contact is made, I preferably provide each tool structure with a spring 68 (Figures 1 and 3) fastened at one end to the back of the pad structure, such as to the plate 54, and fastened at the other end to the two-armed fork 46-41, thus giving each pad structure a bias in a direction to make the above-mentioned mouth or throat wider at the outermost ends of the tools than at the innermost ends.

The driving shaft I 5 of the block chuck l2 may be driven at preferably a relatively low speed, for example, a speed of 30 R. P. M. Its drive may be continuous since the chuck may be operated to engage and disengage a hat block while the drive continues, and during the operation of mounting a blocked hat in the chuck, the frame 22 is in withdrawn position, achieved by swinging it in clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 1, about the stud 21, the frame or standard being provided with a stop lug iii to limit the extent of swing in that direction. The drive of the mounting sleeve 25 is preferably also continuous and hence motor 32 may be continuously energized from any suitable source; the drive is preferably such that the rotation of mounting sleeve 25 and hence of the rosette-like arrangement of operating pads or tools is at a relatively low speed, say on the order of 3 R. P. M. and the above-described preferred worm and worm wheel drive is a convenient way of obtaining the desired speed reduction.

With a blocked hat mounted in the rotating chuck, the frame 22 is now swung, illustratively manually, in counter-clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 1, and is preferably held in such inward position. Thus, the frame part 20 (Figures 1 and 3) may be provided with another stop lug I l with which a part carried by the frame 22, such as a cap screw 12, engages to fix the amount of inward swing, while the frame may be held'in its inward position by a latch member 13, pivoted to the frame 22, as at 74, and shaped, as is better shown in Figure 1, to snap over and engage the stop lug H, under the action of a spring 75 which biases the latch member 13 in appropriate direction. Latch member 13 has a handle 16 whereby, upon the conclusion of the operation upon the hat body, it may be disengaged for reverse movement of the frame 22 and the parts carried by it.

By the above described construction and action, the rotating tool carrying sleeve 25 is made to approach and engage the hat body ID with its axis of rotation and hence the axis of the abovedescribed mouth or throat formed by the now rotating and inwardly biased tool or pad structures substantially along a line which, as viewed in Figure 3, is in the same plane (illustratively horizontal) with the axis of rotation of the hat and which, as viewed in Figure 1, makes an angle of substantially to the axis of the hat, being in eifect along the line of the bisector of the angle between the side of the crown B and the tip of the crown T or in general of the angle subtended by the curvature at the square S.

The torsional bias effected by the adjustment of springs 63 by way of the studs 64 or by the angle of pull of these springs, due to the rotary positioning of the cap plate 65, or by both of these actions if both are employed, each of the forks 46, 41 and hence the pad or tool pivotally carried thereby is held tilted, prior to engagement of the tools with the hat body, in a direction such that when actual engagement of the pads or tool faces with the hat body takes place, it is the trailing edge or end portion of the tool that first makes contact, as distinguished from the leading edge. Thus, with the hat body rotating in clockwise direction, as viewed in Figure 3, the tool assembly, and hence the mounting sleeve 25 therefor, is preferably driven in counter-clockwise direction and the above-mentioned bias is such that, with respect to the tool structure seen in Figure 3, the tool structure is tilted and held,

' prior to contact with the hat, with that edge of the tool underneath or alongside of the arm 41 lower than the other edge which is alongside of the arm 46.

Thus, nicety of engagement of the rotating tools with the hat body and disengagement thereof from the hat body are assured with minimum danger or risk of injury to the material of the hat, and also during the operation of the tools on the hat body this biasing action acts to cause each tool to bear more heavily upon the hat at the trailing end or portion of the tool rather than at the leading end, and thus greater reliability and nicety of action are assured.

The engagement of the faces of the operating tools having been achieved, as in the above-described manner, continued inward movement of the frame 22, to the extent permitted by the stop 7!, causes the rotating tools to be pressed or swung outwardly about their respective pivot pins 40, and against the action of the tension of springs 63, to an extent that depends upon the particular shape of the hat body and to variable extents depending upon variations in the shape of the particular portion or portions of the hat body being traversed by the moving tools. Each tool is pressed against the moving surface of the hat body by its spring 63, the pull or tension of which is appropriately suited to various factors, such as the character of the operating material on the tool,.the rate of relative movement be-' tween the tool and the material of the hat body, the effect desired, etc.

As betterappears from Figure 1, it will be seen i that the orbit or pathutaken by each tool intersects or traverses all parts of the crown ofv the hat, each tool sweeping from that part of the hat closely adjacentthe brim R overthe side B of. the crown, thence overthe square S, across the top or tip T, thence again over the square S, and. across the side B, to complete the closed path of traverse; during this movement of: each tool, however, the hat body itself is rotating, thus to. present or traverse successive circumferential increments of the abovementioned portions of the hat crown. to the tools as they individually and in succession continue to move inv an orbit or path likev that above-described. The relative rubbing movements between pads and crown of the hat are in such directionsthat circumferential markings or streaks cannot be produced or that such markings or streaks, if present from apreceding operation upon the crown, become dependably wiped out, givingthe fiber-like texture of the surfaceof' the crown aphysical uniformity and also a uniform appearance. Also, any unevenness of: a: prior operation upon the crown, such as a pouncing operation, is taken out of the-felt and in effect'evened out.

-As the hat body rotatesand the tool or tools move in the above-described path or orbit, each pador tool, under the force exerted thereon by the pull of spring 63, is allowed, because of its mounting, to adjust iitself always into a substantially. tangential relation to whatever portion of the crown that it. is at the moment pressed against, accommodating itself to. variations in radius of curvature and in changes in radial distance from theaxis: of rotation of the hat body, particularly where the latter is oval, as is illustratively shown in Figure 3. Thus, for example, with a hat body thus shaped, each tool, as it moves throughoutits closed path ororbit, swings or tilts about one or more of the axes provided by the pivot pin 40, the supporting stud 4-2 and. the pivot pins (ill-4H and with the illustrative embodiment above-described a wide variety of shapes of crowns or hat bodies may be dependably operated upon.

Having effected the desired action upon the hat body for the desired length of time, the toolcarrying head or frame is withdrawn from. the hat body, for example, by tripping the latch 13 byway of handle 16 and swinging the frame 22 in clockwise direction to engage the stop 10. whence the blocked hat may be removed from the chuck l2 and. replaced, whence the cycle is repeated.

Thus, it will be seen that there has been provided in this invention an apparatus in which the various objects hereinabove noted together with many thoroughly practical advantages are successfully achieved. It will be seen that the apparatus is of practical construction and of dependable, efficient and safe action and is, moreover, well adapted to meet'the widely varying conditions'of practical use.

As many possible embodiments may be made of the above invention and as many changes might bemade in the embodiment above set forth,

itxis to be understood that all matter hereinabove' setforth, or. shown in. the accompanying drawings is to be interpreted as illustrative and? not in a limiting sense. I

I claim:

1. A hat working machine comprising meansfor supporting and rotating the crown-like body or" a hat, said body having a side joined through the square to a tip, a plurality of tools for operating upon said hat body, means yieldingly mounting and supporting said tools in agroup about and spaced in a radial direction from. a:

common axis of rotation whereby, upon rotation of said mounting means about said axis, each tool of said group moves through a closed'orbit: the general plane of which is at right angles to said axis, means for rotatably supporting said, mounting means for rotation about its saidaxis:

and for positioning the latter atan angle tothe.

axis of said hat supporting and. rotating means and with said general plane of said-closed orbit of each tool intersecting said crown-like bodyalong a path successive portions of which comprise and lie in the side, the square, the tip, the. square, and again the side, of said crown-like body of the hat, whereby, upon rotation of said, tool-mounting means, each one of saidgroup of tools moves through its closed orbit along said: path and successively into engagement withthe side, square, tip, square and side of said hat body for each complete traverse of its orbitas said hat body rotates, and means for driving said tool, mounting means about said axis.

2. .An apparatus as claimed in claim l in which said tool mounting means comprises ,a sleeve-like member having atone end thereof a plurality of means, one for each tool, for supporting the tool for movement in a direction toward or away from the axis of said sleeve member, with spring.

means accommodated within said sleeve memberand acting upon said tools to bias them in a direction toward said axis.

3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 having means mounting said hat supporting and rotating means and said second-mentioned supporting means for relative movement inv directions to":

bring said group of tools and said hat body into or out of operative relation, and means biasing said tools in respective directions relativeto the:

direction, of rotation of said tool mounting meansto cause the trailing end of each tool to contact the hat body first when the latter and said, group of tools are brought into operative relation and to contact the hat body last when said hat body and group of tools are brought out of operative:-

relation to each other.

4-. A; hat machine as, claimed in claim I having means mounting it for controllable movement toward or away from the hat body along substantially a line passing through the square of the hat body and intersecting the axis of rotation of the hat body.

5; A hat machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the supporting means for said tool mount,-

swung in directions to bring, said tools into or out of operative engagement with said-hat body said axis of rotation of the toolsrnoves substan tially along a line that intersects the squareot the hat and the axis of the latter.

6. A hat machine as claimed in claim 1 in,

which said tools present operating faces to. the

hat body thatare of substantially flat padelike:

in, which the supporting means for saidtool mount ing means is in, the form of an auxiliary frame form, said yielding mounting means therefor comprising means providing a plurality of axes for each tool and about which the tool may tilt and comprising also spring means biasing each tool in a-direction toward said axis of rotation, whereby as said tools are swung through their respective orbits and traverse parts of the hat body that are of different curvatures each tool maintains itself substantially tangential to whatever curved part of the hat body it happens to engage.

7. A hat working machine comprising means for supporting and rotating the crown-like body of a hat, said body having a side joined through the square to a tip, a tool for operating upon said hat body, means movably supporting said tool for movement in an orbit to cause the tool to traverse successively the side, the square, the tip, the square and the side of the hat body as the latter rotates, and means driving said tool supporting means to effect movement of the tool repeatedly through said orbit, said tool supporting means comprising a rotary member having means mounting it for rotation about an axis making an angle on the order of 45 with the axis of rotation of the hat body, said rotary member carrying mounting means for said tool for holding the latter spaced from its axis of rotation whereby, upon rotation of said rotary member by said driving means, said tool swings in a circular path about the axis of said rotary member, said mounting' means including also means for yieldingly biasing said tool inwardly toward the axis about which it swings, thereby to urge the tool into contact with said hat body and to permit variation in the shape of said orbit according to the variations in the hat body as relative traverse between said tool and the side, square, tip and then the square and the side of the hat body takes place.

8. A hat working machine comprising means for supporting and rotating the crown-like body of a hat, said body having a side joined through the square to a tip, a too] for operating upon said hat body, means movably supporting said tool for movement in an orbit to cause the tool to traverse successively the side, the square, the tip, the square and the side of the hat body as the latter rotates, and means driving said tool supporting means to effect movement of the tool repeatedly through said orbit, said tool supporting means comprising a rotary member having means for rotatably supporting it for rotation about an axis, and connections between said tool and said rotary member providing a plurality of axes about which said tool may pivot to accommodate itself to variations in the hat body as it moves through said orbit, with means urging the tool into engagement with the hat body.

9. A hat working machine comprising means for supporting and rotating a hat body, a tool for operating upon said hat body, means movably supporting said tool for movement of translation about an axis and in a generally curved path to traverse portions of said hat body as the latter rotates, and means driving said tool-supporting means to effect repeated movement of translation thereof through said path, said tool supporting means comprising a hollow rotary member with means pivotally connecting the tool to said rotary member for pivoting about a plurality of axes, one of which extends in a direction generally lengthwise of the axis of said member and another extends in a direction to permit swinging movement of the tool toward or away from said axis, and spring means extending into said hollow rotary member for biasing said tool about at least one of said axes of pivoting.

10. A hat wor'king machine comprising means for supporting and rotating a hat body, a tool for operating upon said hat body, means movably supporting said tool for movement of translation about an axis and in a generally curved path to traverse portions of said hat body as the latter rotates, and means driving said tool-supporting means to effect repeated movement of translation thereof through said path, said tool supporting means comprising a hollow rotary member with means pivotally connecting the tool to said rotary member for pivoting about a plurality of axes, one of which extends in a direction generally lengthwise of the axis of said member and another extends in a direction to permit swinging movement of the tool toward or away from said axis, and a tensioned spring extending into said hollow rotary member and by its tension biasing said tool about one of said axes of pivoting and by its torsional effect biasing the tool about said other axis of pivoting.

11. A hat working machine comprising means for supporting and rotating a hat body, a tool for operating upon said hat body, means movably supporting said tool for movement of translation about an axis and in a generally curved path to traverse portions of said hat body as the latter rotates, and means driving said tool-supporting means to effect repeated movement of translation thereof through said path, said tool supporting means comprising a hollow rotary member with means pivotally connecting the tool to said rotary member for pivoting about a plurality of axes, one of which extends in a direction generally lengthwise of the axis of said member and another extends in a direction to permit swinging movement of the tool toward or away from said axis, and a spring for biasing said tool about both of said axes, said spring extending into said hollow rotary member at an angle to bias the spring about said first-mentioned axis and by its tension also biasing said tool about the secondmentioned axis.

12. A hat working machine comprising means for supporting and rotating a hat body, a tool for operating upon said hat body, means movably supporting said tool for movement of translation about an axis and in a generally curved path to traverse portions of said hat body as the latter rotates, and means driving said tool-supporting means to effect repeated movement of translation thereof through said path, said tool supporting means comprising a rotary member and a sleevelike bearing means therefor, said bearing means having a slot transversely of its axis intermediate of its ends, and said driving means comprising a gear accommodated in said slot and having said rotary member extending therethrough and secured thereto, whereby said gear may transmit axial thrusts to said bearing means caused by the reaction of said tool on the hat body.

13. A hat working machine comprising means for supporting and rotating the crown-like body of a hat, a tool for operating upon said hat body, means for movably supporting said tool to move at relatively large and variable radius, and means actuating said tool-supporting means to give the tool movement of translation, while in engagement with said hat body, in a curved path of relatively large radius and variable according to the changing contour of the hat body presented to the tool as the body rotates, the general plane of said path making an oblique angle to the axis of rotation of said crown-like hat body, said actuating means effecting movement of the tool along a line successive portions of which comprise and lie in the side and top of the said crown-like body, whereby, upon movement of the tool in its said curved path, it moves from the side of the hat body to the topand then to the side as the hat body rotates.

14. A machine for removing circumferential traces on the side and top of a crown-like hat body resulting from a prior operation thereon and for evening the effects of such a prior operation, comprising means for supporting the crown-like body of the hat for rotary movement substantially about its axis, a rubbing tool, means for supporting said rubbing tool to move along a curved path that is of relatively large radius and whose radius is variable according to the changing contour of the hat body engaged by the rubbing tool, operating means for said hat-supporting means to give the latter and the hat body supported thereby rotary movement about said axis, and means for actuating said tool-supporting means to give the tool movement of translation, while in engagement with the hat body, in said curved path of relatively large radius and along a line on the hat body successive portions of which line comprise and lie in the side and the top of the hat body and which line intersects at an oblique angle the circumferential path taken by any point in the side or top of the hat body as the latter is given rotary movement by said operating means, said tool-supporting means permitting variation in the radius of the path of movement according to the changing contour of the hat body, said actuating means and said operating means effecting movement of said tool and of the surface of the hat body respectively 1 ably supporting said plurality of tool supporting means from said end of said mounting member, means for supporting and presenting a hat body to said tools, spring means accommodated within said sleeve member and acting upon said movably mounted tool supporting means to bias them in a direction toward said axis and urge them against said hat body, and driving means for effecting relative movement between the hat body and said plurality of tools to cause relative traverse therebetween and operation of said tools on the hat body.

16. A hat working machine as claimed in claim 15 in which said means movably mounting said plurality of tool supporting means on said sleeve member comprises a plurality of pivotal connections the axes of pivoting of which are substantially at right angles to respective radii drawn thereto from said axis, and means limiting the swinging movement of said tools about said axes in a direction toward said sleeve axis by an amount sufficient to cause said plurality of tools to form a yieldably expansible mouth to receive the hat body therein when the latter is presented to said tools.

BURLING D. WELLS. 

